Safe
by Simone Robinson
Summary: "The little girl's parents were nowhere to be seen, and Leo was left to assume that they were off searching for her, if they had survived the chaos of the battle. His legs ached with a type of tiredness he was very unused to. With the shelters closing, he found as much cover as he could in an abandoned alleyway, and sunk to the ground. He prayed she wouldn't try to run."


**Safe**

* * *

It was the worst storm of the year. It had come on so suddenly that New York City had not had the chance to prepare. The ice was thick, the snow covered rooftops and blocked doors, making it impossible to get in or out. People who had been caught out now huddled in shelters around the cities, in shops and churches that rapidly got snowed in. Manhole covers were well and truly iced shut, the streets slick with sleet.

Leonardo had lost track of the time. It was dark overhead, the moon peeking out and sending a soft light over the snow. What had started out as a usual patrol had gotten complicated very quickly with the onset of snow, the fight getting chaotic and disjointed. They had gotten separated, and when the flurry of the fight had cleared, his brothers had been nowhere to be seen.

His worry had been eased by a phone-call. They were fine and heading to the lair.

Unfortunately, such a straight trip wasn't an option for Leonardo for one reason. That reason was a little girl, part of the family they had been defending from gang violence in the first place. Her parents were nowhere to be seen, and Leo was left to assume that they were off searching for her, if they had survived the chaos.

The shelters were being snowed in fast and he had no more than a brief window in which to get her to safety. She had been disorientated, confused and frightened. After half an hour of searching, with her in his arms, Leo had been forced to give up.

The shelters were snowed in, and the cold was getting worse, an icy chill that worked its way into his very core. Leonardo had always been one for the cold, but this type of cold was dangerous. He could feel his muscles beginning to seize up in resistance and he grit his teeth.

His legs ached with a type of tiredness he was very unused to. Left without any other options, he found as much shelter as he could in an abandoned alleyway, and sunk to the ground. He leaned back against a wall, feeling it grate against his shell. He sighed and leaned his head back, flecks of snow blowing inside their shelter and landing on his skin. The little girl was dressed warmly, but not enough to shield her from this kind of weather. He pulled her against his plastron, wrapping an arm around her. He was by no means warm, but he was warmer than the snow and the wind, and it was the best that they had right now. Tension knotted in his shoulders and he shook it off. He was no good with children; he had always seemed to lack that particular instinct, but he would not let a child freeze to death.

He glanced down at her; her hair was curly and damp from the snowflakes and she shifted in his arms. She was coming to; a dozy, disorientated spark lit her eyes as they fluttered open.

Leo braced himself for the usual reaction, and the child did not disappoint, her eyes going wide, her mouth opening in a scream that the wind stole from his ears. She tried to push away, but she was young and the cold and her recent ordeal left her too weak to even squirm out of his arms. She tried to say something, but a cough stopped her in her tracks. She doubled over with great, hacking coughs that robbed her of her breath. Leo rubbed her back, the action awkward and unsure. He never _was_ sure how to handle children.

 _Don't try to run._

New York was a big place, and Leo didn't know if he could keep her safe.

Once her coughing fit subsided, she looked at him with a frightened glance and ducked her head. She seemed to have worked out that she didn't have the strength to go very far, and the storm reflected in her frightened eyes.

She was fidgety, flighty and scared. She didn't seem to know what to do with herself, and over the din of the storm, Leo had no hopes of talking to her to calm her down.

Exhaustion washed over him and his mind pushed against it, resisting.

In the lull of movement, his grip must have slackened; he only had a moments warning before she lunged for the exit of their shelter. Acting more on instinct than anything, Leo moved, grabbing her and pulling her close, back into the shelter. Everything ached and he found himself breathless as the ice-cold got to him.

She was crying, and Leo didn't blame her. Breathless, he sank back against the wall. He knew he was a sight right now, flecked with blood that burnt into his skin. It worked its way into the crevices in his hands and covered them. He instinctively rubbed his hands, but the blood stayed fast as he knew it would.

 _She was safe here. As safe as he could keep her until they could get help. She was safe here with him, even if she didn't know it._

"Be brave…" He whispered on the wind, his words stolen away from him and lost on the child's ears. He sighed, feeling the lethargy grip his body and sink him deeper into a strange type of apathy that he didn't understand.

 _The cold was getting to him._

Why would this child trust him? Even if she could over-look his appearance, it was a foolish hope to think that she could over-look the swords strapped to his shell, the kunai on his belt, stained with blood. His own skin was pale from the cold, coated with blood splatters from the enemy. A ninja, a fighter, a killer.

 _Even a child could see that._

If only she could see that the thought of hurting an innocent child made him feel sick.

She was looking the other way, eyes darting around as if she was looking to make a break for it.

Leonardo wrapped his arms around her tighter and held her against the cold.

 _She'd be safe here._

His eyes began to slip shut, head falling back against the wall behind him as the ice blew through the fragile shelter and coaxed the last threads of consciousness from his body.

And in his arms, the child curled up small. But Leo didn't feel a thing.


End file.
